Equal and Forever is a celebration of love, equality, and the pursuit of happiness.

Amber + Kasey | Texas Wedding at The Rose Garden

“Before the nationwide legalization of what I will henceforth refer to as simply, marriage, my wife and I eloped to NYC and got married at the courthouse. My best friend/best man and I were each other’s witnesses. The date was ironically shared with Texas Independence day, March 2, 2015. This was exciting but not nearly as exciting as what was to come. In just one month I was to have the wedding my wife and I had been planning since our engagement a mere four months prior.

As a hopeless romantic I was always on a rush to the alter. When I met my wife back in 2013 I truly felt like we were soul mates. We spent long hours on the phone, in stereotypical fashion, planning our wedding and naming our children just after a few dates. We remained friends for some time until I just couldn’t resist fate’s nagging any longer. I proposed December 21, 2014 at the Texas Gaylord in front of my family as onlookers gave me the justified “aww.” We chose April 12, 2015 as our wedding date because it was exactly two years since the first time we had a phone conversation (and the day before our first date). It seemed pretty fitting.

The day was overcast and I crossed my fingers all day long that it wouldn’t rain. I really wanted to get some outdoor shots of the beautiful garden. Our venue was perfect. The Rose Chapel in Fort Worth was truly wonderful. The morning of my wedding came and went in the blink of an eye. The groomsmen and I got up early in the morning, met my soon-to-be in laws and father at the chapel to decorate. My wife looked absolutely stunning. We stuck with the tradition of not seeing each other until she walked down the aisle and it proved to be just as romantic as I thought it would be. It took everything I had to hold my senses together. When she joined me at the front of chapel we just kept whispering “hi” back and forth because we didn’t know what else to say.We wrote our own vows and like a champ I was able to get through them, line by line, in one piece. My wife, on the other hand, held up the ceremony a bit with some alligator tears when she spoke about my beautiful daughter, which seemed to be contagious as all my guys were red-eyed.

The ceremony started just as soon as it began and the whirlwind that was our wedding day was half over.The reception was a blast but I was so busy entertaining and worrying about my first dance that I hardly remember it now. I was able to marry my best friend in front of all our family and friends. My daughter carried our rings, my best friends stood by my side and supported me each step of the way, my parents cried the entire ceremony, my in-laws offered a financial hand at several critical moments and I gained new family and friends. I could never thank our fantastic vendors enough who assisted in the creation of my most memorable day.”